The 99%: Responding to "Get a Job" Hecklers

My brother is an active participant in the Occupy St. Louis protest. Here is his response to those who shout out to him to get a job. He occupies in his free time and leaves to work his job. He is the 99%.

I am really getting tired of people telling me to “get a job”. I have one thank you. The statement “get a job” is a rather silly statement to make. It is really the point we are making.

There are over 12 million unemployed people in this country. Many people lost their jobs because corporations decided that it would be more profitable to ship jobs overseas where they can pay pennies on the dollar for labor. I lost my job, which I had for over 21 years because of corporate greed, they laid off over 800 people here in St. Louis. Over a period of about 3 years they laid off thousands from my company, taking 6 divisions down to 1.

I was unemployed for over 2 and a half years. I lost my retirement account, I lost my profit sharing account, I lost my house. I went bankrupt and lost my good credit rating. I am one of the lucky ones because I didn’t end up living on the streets.

I have a job now. I throw newspapers for a living. I have 2 Post Dispatch routes and a Suburban Journal route. I drive 20 year old cars about 50,000 miles a year. I make maybe one third of what I used to, and work much harder for it.

So, when someone passes by, very angry and yells “get a job” I smile and say “I have one thank you”. But what I am really thinking is “get a clue.”